🎯Three Content Types · One Force Field
Every square belongs to one of three content types — not three levels you climb. Track personal progress in your Course and Skills Lab.
📘 Learn It Content type
Concepts to absorb.
🛠 Live It Content type
Daily skills and habits.
📣 Share It Content type
Teach, advocate, carry forward.
🛡️Your Force Field — 16 Squares
Deeper detail lives in the Prepared Patient Pulmonary Fibrosis / ILD course.
What Pulmonary Fibrosis Is
Scarring in lung tissue makes it stiff. Less air exchange. Progressive in many.
Learn ItWhy Antifibrotics Matter
Pirfenidone and nintedanib slow scarring. They don't reverse it but they extend lung function.
Learn ItSpot the Red Flags
Severe SOB at rest · cough up blood · chest pain · bluish lips — 911.
Learn ItInfection Triggers
Cold, flu, COVID, pneumonia. Any infection can trigger an exacerbation.
Learn ItNumbers That Matter
FVC, DLCO, 6-minute walk. Trended on schedule.
Learn ItAntifibrotic Daily
Take with food. GI side effects common but manageable.
Live ItPulse Ox at Home
Drop in O2 with effort is a warning sign. Log it.
Live ItPulmonary Rehab
Supervised exercise + education. Real outcomes data.
Live ItMake Every Visit Count
Bring oxygen log, walking distance, any new symptoms.
Live ItYour Care Team
Pulmonologist + ILD specialist + sometimes transplant evaluation.
Live ItTelehealth
Med management works telehealth. Imaging in person.
Live ItInsurance & Cost
Antifibrotics are expensive — manufacturer assistance programs exist.
Live ItTransplant Eligibility
Some patients are candidates. Conversation worth having early.
Live ItTeach & Mentor
Pulmonary fibrosis is isolating. Patient-to-patient support helps.
Share ItAdvocate
Research funding for ILD is small. Patient voices push it forward.
Share ItResearch & Trials
Combination therapies, biomarker studies, lung regeneration.
Share ItThree things to learn before you actually need them.
Workflow lives in the Prepared Visit Tool. Trackers in your Course.
Which door do I use?
ILD is about preserving lung function and catching exacerbations fast.
Handle at home
- Stable baseline shortness of breath with effort
- Mild dry cough
- Following antifibrotic schedule
Log it. Stay on meds and pulmonary rehab if prescribed.
Call the office / message the portal
- Worsening cough or new wet cough
- Mild fever
- Running low on antifibrotic or oxygen supplies
- New medication from another doctor (interaction risk)
Same day. ILD exacerbations move fast.
Urgent / Acute care
- Fever ≥101°F
- Sputum that’s green/yellow/bloody
- Marked decrease in exercise tolerance
- New ankle swelling
Urgent care. Bring your med list.
ER NOW / call 911
- Severe shortness of breath at rest
- Chest pain
- Lips or fingertips bluish
- Cough up significant blood
- Confusion
Call 911. Tell them you have ILD — it changes their plan.
How to describe a new symptom in 30 seconds
What is it?
Plain words.
How bad?
0-10.
When did it start?
Time + what you were doing.
What made it worse?
Movement · food · meds.
What helped?
Even a little.
What else was new?
Fever · med · supplement · stress. The forgotten detail often shifts the diagnosis.
“Shortness of breath worsened over 5 days, a 7, worse climbing stairs, started after I caught a cold from my grandchild, sitting helps, and I haven’t had a fever.”
Questions worth asking
Four for every patient, every condition, every visit:
- “Could this be a side effect of one of my medications, a supplement, or something else I’m doing — and should we change that?”
- “Would any non-drug therapy help — physical therapy, meditation, rest, ice or heat?”
- “If I can’t afford this medication or this test, can we talk about samples, alternatives, or a social worker who can help?”
- “What should I be watching for between now and my next visit — and when do I handle it myself, when do I call your office, when do I go to urgent care, and when do I go to the ER?”
Questions specifically for Pulmonary Fibrosis / ILD:
- “Am I a candidate for antifibrotic therapy (pirfenidone, nintedanib)?”
- “Should I have pulmonary rehab or be referred to a transplant program?”
- “What’s my FVC and DLCO trend?”
- “Do I need home oxygen at rest, with activity, or at night?”
- “What vaccines protect me — flu, pneumococcal, RSV, COVID?”